NRK’s music profile has long been criticized and debated, by performers, creators, music organizations, the media as well as the public. The Norwegian Composers’ Association complained about the state channel to the Broadcasting Council for what they believe is a weakened music profile.
On Thursday, the matter was taken up in the council.
The criticism is, in short, that NRK does not fulfill its own mission, and that the state channel has stopped prioritizing music. During today’s meeting, Karlstrøm presents three points where he thinks NRK is too bad:
- NRK does not ensure breadth and diversity in the music content.
- Norwegian authors do not get leeway.
- Editorial content about music is gone.
Complains about NRK’s music profile
– Does not play Norwegian music
Section 17 of the NRK poster states:
«NRK will disseminate Norwegian culture and a wide variety of Norwegian art expressions from many different artists, independent environments and cultural institutions. NRK will disseminate Norwegian music, film and drama and stimulate Norwegian production environments. “
The Composers’ Association points out several examples of where NRK fails. Among other things, the association has mapped how much new Norwegian music is played on NRK. The graph shows that the proportion is low.
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– Almost no new Norwegian music is played on P2. On NRK Klassisk the level is as low as on NRK Nyheter, and on NRK mp3 the proportion is much lower than one would expect, says Jørgen Karlstrøm, chairman of the board of the Composers’ Association.
– This case is basically about what NRK will be in the future, Karlstrøm concludes.
Professor Erling Gulbrandsen at the Department of Musicology at UiO expresses similar concern in the Norwegian Broadcasting Council.
He believes that the listeners are far more versatile than NRK thinks, and that there is no need for their own genre channels, such as NRK Jazz and NRK Klassisk. In addition, Guldbransen claims that NRK is panicking about attracting younger readers and listeners. He believes this is the reason why the channel has stopped prioritizing music journalism, and that the focus is on clicks.
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– This has bothered me for a long time
All of the council members agree with the Composers’ Association’s criticism.
– This has bothered me for a long time. I have NRK on my ear and watch NRK around the clock. I love NRK. But what has happened is that everything is designed as if it were a jukebox. Today, one does not even hear local artists on district broadcasts. I think NRK should throw up the cards and think new, and not do like everyone else, says council member Tover Karoline Knudsen.
She is supported by the council’s deputy chairman, Torgeir Uberg Nærland.
– I have problems with NRK’s understanding of music diversity. NRK responds to a fragmented audience with further fragmentation. That is not the answer. I support the complainants in that we must have a discussion about what kind of role NRK should play in the promotion of musical diversity, says Nærland.
With fragmentation, he refers to the creation of various genre channels such as NRK Jazz and NRK Klassisk, and claims that these music genres are no longer played on the largest channels.
Other council members believe that NRK does not do a good enough job in challenging the listeners’ taste in music, and that the songs that are played are of a commercial nature.
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Sees potential for improvement
Media director Øyvind Lund of NRK acknowledges that the channel has potential for improvement, but does not agree that NRK is not fulfilling its mission.
– Our assignment is assessed every single year. NRK has not received any remarks in recent years on our music profile, and we have to deal with our supervisory authority, he says.
NRK’s radio manager, Cathinka Rondan, believes that NRK’s main challenge is that NRK’s music journalism is not well enough communicated on social media.
– There we will get better. But we believe that we do a lot of good for Norwegian and Sami music, says Rondan.
Both council leader Julie Brodtkorb and Broadcasting Manager Thor Gjermund Eriksen emphasize that they have not received any remarks about their music profile in the media audit.
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